AltWeeklies Wire
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Frontman Strikes Out on His Own with 'Mo Beauty'new
While this "solo" debut finds the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman sounding comfortable and more accomplished as a singer-songwriter, the band is so excellent -- flawless, really -- that the album's only weak spots come from Alec Ounsworth himself.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
Former Green on Red Guitarist Chuck Prophet Returns with a New Albumnew
Ever since he joined Green on Red 25 years ago, I've wanted to ask singer-songwriter and guitarist Chuck Prophet if he was born with that last name. He set the record straight in an interview last week. "Would I make that up?" he said, in mock offense.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
11-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'This Is It' Looks at Michael's Sad Endnew
Kenny Ortega's film is a patched-together effort to make money, featuring a man who was not well.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
'The Damned United' Tells a 1970s British Soccer Tale in an Engrossing Waynew
Michael Sheen is endlessly fun to watch; his David Frost in Frost/Nixon and his Tony Blair in The Queen are both impeccable, but his turn in The Damned United makes a serious case for not only being his best work, but also some of the best acting of the year.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
Is the Iconic Saguaro Cactus in Jeopardy?new
Scientists say buffelgrass may be on an unstoppable march -- and the saguaro is in its way.
Tucson Weekly |
Leo W. Banks |
11-04-2009 |
Environment
The Nurses' 'Apple's Acre' is Instantly Invigoratingnew
On paper, the Nurses' formula sounds a shade of awful: hootenanny percussion, two guys singing in layered high-pitched caterwauls, and plinking pianos topped with synthesizers. But what music ever sounds good on paper?
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Apple's Acre, Nurses
The Slits Are Back, Sounding as Uncompromising and Relevant as Evernew
The current Slits sound remarkably like the original Slits, but with fewer rough edges and more instrumental sophistication. On Trapped Animal, The Slits mix poppy, dubby reggae and danceable rock-reggae with articulate but streetwise dreadlocked British feminist ideology.
Tucson Weekly |
Carl Hanni |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Trapped Animal, The Slits
Star and Micey: Legend in the Making?new
Memphis' newest export is Star and Micey, a young three-piece that arrives full-born with its self-titled debut CD.
Tucson Weekly |
Carl Hanni |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Star and Micey
Hope Sandoval Releases Another Album Full of Deceptively Simple Songsnew
Fans of the former Mazzy Star vocalist will rejoice to learn she has a new disc out, and that it is perhaps a more beautiful psychedelic dream-pop experience than her first record.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Pardon the Colloquialism, but the New Mountain Goats Album is Super-Duper Goodnew
The Life of the World to Come is so good it may make you giggle and squirm and play it over and over again.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tom Russell Eschews Modern Indie Rock's Emasculated Songwritingnew
"(Indie-rock) voices have become wimpy, and so has the songwriting," says Russell, 56, matter-of-factly, prompted by my first question: Where have all the real men singer/songwriters gone, and why doesn't indie rock offer any?
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
10-29-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Why? Wades Through the Strange 'Eskimo Snow'new
Started as a pet project by Yoni Wolf, whose deadpan raps and quirky musical tastes (culled from hip-hop, rock and folk influences) made for strange bedfellows, Why? soon swelled into a full-fledged band with Yoni's brother, Josiah, and friend Doug McDiarmid joining.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
10-29-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Eskimo Snow, Why?
Other Than the Fact That It's Boring, 'Bright Star' is a Fine Filmnew
Watching Bright Star was like having dinner while sitting across from a couple who are completely in love. "Wow, you guys sure like to touch noses. Umm ... waiter? Can I get some more bread? Waiter? Hello?"
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Bright Star, Jane Campion
Another Year, Another Terrible 'Saw' Sequelnew
It seems like the Saw movies will never end, that they will return every year like an evil plague -- a scaly, slimy demon determined to steal your money. I know this very notion gives me serious nightmares.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Kevin Greutert, Saw VI
The Coen Brothers Follow One Man's Effort to Know More than He Cannew
Stories that go nowhere are generally not good entertainment. But stories about stories that go nowhere, as Joel and Ethan Coen have shown with A Serious Man, can be incredible.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: A Serious Man, The Coen Brothers
